March (vol 1-3) (2x3) 6 pts

 As nonfiction graphic narrative creators, Andrew Aiden and Nate Powell collaborated with John Lewis, the subject of this semi-autobiography, and treated the characters with dignity. There’s a higher level of historical accuracy because they had a first-person witness of the events and probably did their research. Some elements were fictionalized for the sake of the plot, like a dramatized retelling, where the drawn characters reenact the events of the story like actors. Each character was drawn in a somewhat realistic style; Every person had a recognizable caricature, too, if one were to look up some of the major players involved, so as not to portray such an important topic with racist stereotypes. Because racism is still an ongoing issue and people still march for civil rights, these graphic novels approached an overview of the modern movement’s history with respect. There are people still alive whose parents were slaves, so this topic is fresh in many people’s minds and very relevant to the recent marches we’ve had around the world against police brutality. These books have shown that's also not a new problem. They also showed how people actually responded to peaceful protests, and how the protestors were met with violence despite their adamance for non-violent responses. It was interesting to see and hear about things from Lewis’s perspective, like how he met Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and how he heard about Rosa Parks on the radio. The book doesn’t mention the minor who preceded Rose Parks, which is likely how most of the people of the day would have experienced it because they didn’t want to endanger a teenager by using her as a representative of their goals.

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